Apparatus for orientation



Oct. 12, 1948. E. MERTEN APPARATUS FOR ORIENTATION 3 Sheats-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 27, 1945 Fig.5

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BL his ArrorneqmwaM Patented Oct. 12, 1948 APPARATUS FOR ORIENTATION Eugen Merten, Houston, Tex., assignor to Shell Development Company, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application November 27, 1945, Serial No. 631,055

12 Claims. (Cl. 177-352) This invention pertains to a method and apparatus for orientation with regard to the earth magnetic field, and refers more particularly to a system for orienting boreholes, such as oil wells, seismometer holes, and the like, as well as various bodies, tools or instruments, such as whipstocks, knuckle joints, gun perforators, fishing tools, seismic detectors, logging devices, photographic cameras, and the like, whose oriented position within said boreholes or other relatively inaccessible places it is desired to ascertain.

Although various methods and devices have been proposed for orientation purposes, these methods commonly have certain drawbacks, such as that of lacking the desired accuracy and reliability, or that of requiring the use of complicated machinery, for example, .Selsyn motors, gyroscopic compasses, etc.

It is therefore the object 01' this invention to provide a method whereby orientation with regard to the earth magnetic field may be effected with great accuracy, such as within one degree, by means of a relatively simple device used in combination with readily available electrical and recording equipment.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description taken with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, partly in cross-section of the present direction finder or orienting I device;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic cross-section in a horizontal plane of the coils I and 2 of Fig. 1, taken intermediate their upper and lower ends;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of a housing comprising the present device and aseismic detector;

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the electrical network used in operating the present device;

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the application of the present device to the orientation of whipstocks;

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the application of the present device for purposes of well orientation;

Fig. 7 is a reproduction of a part of a record obtained by means of the present device.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a modified mounting arrangement for the coils of the Present orienting device.

Referring to Fig. 1, the present direction finder or beam members I! and I9 amxed to the upright 2 frame member and preferably arranged at right angles to each other. Thin resilient wires 21 and 29 made of a material such as quartz, elinvar, etc. are passed over the beams I7 and I9 and over two coils I and 2, electrically insulated therefrom and from each other. The supporting wires 21 and 29 are connected below the coils to an adjustable swivel 23, afllxed to the lower base plate 5. The coils I and 2 are thus suspended or mounted at right angles to each other for limited rotation about a common vertical axis independently of each other, the position of the frame determining the original position of said coils with regard to the earth magnetic field, the plane of coil I being at right angles to beam I1, and the plane of coil 2 being at right angles to beam I9. It is however obvious that any other method of mounting the coils for independent oscillation about a single axis may equally well be used.

Electric current is supplied to the coil I through terminals I4 and I5, and to coil 2 through terminals 24 and 25, carried on the frame members 9 and l and insulated therefrom by non-conductor blocks I8 and 28. The terminals I4, I5, 24 and 25 are connected to a source of current and to the rest of the electric circuit of the present system in the manner shown in Fig. 4. The frame structure is made of non-magnetic materials such as bronze, brass, aluminum, magnesium, plastics, etc.

As an example, the coils I and 2 may be made of No. 44 A. W. G. wire, the larger coil having '1200 turns wound to a shape of 2.1 by 0.4 by 0.1 inches, and the smaller coil having 1500 turns wound to a shape of 1.7 by 0.4 by 0.1 inches. The natural frequency periods of the coils are adjusted to about 10 cycles per second, and the damping is kept very low.

The principle of operation of the present device is based on the fact that the electromotive force which is produced in a coil oscillating in a magnetic field, such as the earth field, is a function of the position and direction of rotation of the coil with regard to said magnetic field.

When a coil such as coil I of Fig. 1, having N turns and an area A, is swinging with a maximum amplitude or through a maximum deflection angle Go about an axis through its center, the following expression may be used to connect the natural period 'I, the inertia J and the restoring moment K of the coil:

rea /Tr From the well-known relationship involving angular velocity 0;, frequency f, and period T:

we derive: w=\ /K/J and the motion of the coil, or its instantaneous deflection angle G at a time it may be expressed by the equation:

G==Go sin (wt+p) where p is the phase angle of the coil at the tim i:0.

Denoting the angle between the magnetic north and a line normal to the initial position of the plane of the coil I as the azimuth D of the coil, the fiux F through the coil at the time t when the normal of the coils plane forms with the direction of the earths field H an angle D-I-G will be:

F=NAH cos (D+G) from which the following expression may be derived for the electromotive force e=dF/dt':

For values of G which are small compared to D, this may be written:

e=NAHwG sin D cos (wiH-p) It will be seen that the azimuth angle D between the initial position of the coil I and the earth magnetic field can be determined from this equation, with the possibility, however, that the value obtained will differ by 2D-180 from the true desired value.

To eliminate this uncertainty, use is made of the coil 2, rotating about an axis parallel or, as shown in Fig. 1, coincident with that of coil I and having its plane displaced by 90 from that of coil I.

Applying the subscript 1 to the symbols defined hereinabove when used with regard to coil I, and the subscript 2 when used with regard to coil 2, we may express the azimuth of the second coil as:

D2=D1+1r/2 and its electromotive force as:

N1A1HwiG1o sin D1 as E1 and N2A2Hw2G2o COS D1 as E2 the following expression is obtained:

The voltages E1 and E2, the periods Ti. and T2, and the phases In and p: can be observed by connecting the coils I and 2 into a circuit comprising a recording galvanometer, oscillograph or seismograph, as shown for example in Fig. 4, amplifying the weak voltages produced by the coils upon oscillation in the earth field, recording said oscillation voltages on an oscillogram, and analyzing said oscillogram.

The values N1, A1, N2 and A2 are constants of the coils and can be determined. The deflections G and G can be determined from a careful study of the oscillogram.

As stated in describing Fig. l, coils I and 2 are mounted inside each other for independent oscillation about a single axis. In order to cause such oscillation, direct current is passed through these coils by means of the terminals I4, I5, 24 and 25. This produces a deflection of both coils due to the interaction of their own magnetic fields, which are thousandfold stronger than the earth magnetic field. Referring to Fig. 2, which is a diagram showing a. horizontal cross-section tan D1 of the coils of Fig. 1 taken intermediate their upper and lower ends, it will be seen that if the connections are such that the current in coil I passes downwardly in the vertical wire or wires IR. and upwardly in the vertical wire or wires IL, while in coil 2 it passes downwardly in 2L and upwardly in 2R, the magnetic lines of force represented by small circles shown about these wires in the drawing will cause the wires 2L and IR, as well as wires IL and 2R to move toward each other by mutual attraction, which motion will be further aided by the repelling action exercised between wires 2L and IL, and Wires IR. and 2H. respectively.

The coils I and 2 will therefore tend to deflect toward a common plane indicated by line Y-Y in Fig. After the vibrations caused by this deflection die down, and the coils are completely at rest, for example, after 30 seconds, the application of the direct current to the coils is discontinued, which causes the coils to start swinging back to their initial position under the effect of the restoring moments exerted by the wires 21 and 29. The start of this motion is referred herein to a time i=0, with the coil phases p1=:1r/2 and pz=:1r/2 and the positive maximum deflection angle amplitudes G10 and Geo whereby the following expressions are obtained for instantaneous values:

The plus or minus signs will depend on whether the initial deflection was clockwise or counterclockwise, and will not change with the direction of the deflecting current, being constant factors of the assembly in the same way as the values N1, N2, A1 and A2.

The maximum deflecting angles G10 and G20 are functions of the deflecting torques T1 and T2 and restoring moments K1 and K2. The torques are proportional to the products of the direct currents I1 and I2 passed through the coils, and of assembly constants M1 and M2, as follows:

The expression for tan D, derived hereinabove, comprises the ratio Gill/G20, which is independent of the currents I1 and I2. The instrumental constants subject to change are K1 and K2.

Since:

K1/K2=(T2 /T1 (J1 /J2 it follows that G1o/G2o=(M1/M2) (Ti /T2 (h J1 tThe expression for tan D, can therefore be writ- The factor NgAgM2J1 N A lllplg does not change with time, use or location and may therefore be expressed as C, the constant of the instrument, so that:

The constant C can be experimentally determined by orienting the instrument during calibrationfso that D1=45, and therefore:

The operation of the present method, and the calibration and application of the apparatus used in accordance therewith will now be described with regard to the orientation of a device such as a seismic detector or geophone, from which description the manner in which the present meth- 0d and apparatus may be applied for the orientation of other well tools, such as knuckle joints, whipstocks, etc, or, in combination with devices such as photographic cameras, air-bubble levels, for the orientation of deflecting boreholes, will be understood by those familiar with the art of orienting underground shafts.

In seismic exploration, in order that recorded seisrnograms may be properly analyzed and interpreted, it is essential to measure the velocity of seismic waves, and more specifically, of their vertical and horizontal components in a particular location 0: area. Before undertaking actual seismic recording, it is therefore customary to place seismic detectors in a borehole, to explode a charge at a known distance therefrom, and to record on a seismogram the moment of the explosion and the seismic waves arrivin at the geophones, from which record the velocity of the seismic waves may be determined. Since seismic waves, however, do not travel in straight lines,

int are subject to various refraction and reflection phenomena, it is essential, for exact velocity measurements, to determine the direction'from which the seismic waves arrive at the detector. Often it is important to determine whether the wave is longitudinal or transverse in character; this can only be done by knowing the orientation of the motion in space. Hence, it is obvious that an accurate orientation of detectors, and more specifically of the axis of rotation of their inertia element or mass, is in such cases an essential requirement of seismic velocity measurements.

Referring to Fig. 3, a seismic detector generally indicated at 33, and the present orienting device generally indicated at and similar to that of Fig. 1, are mounted within a closed housing 32,

which may be lowered into a borehole at the end of a cable rod or tubing 31. The detector 33 may comprise a coil 39 attached by a conical lever arm 4| to a seismograph mass 43, adapted to swing about a horizontal axis 45. When the oncoming seismic waves, and more particularly the horizontal component thereof, cause the housing 32 to oscillate in sympathy therewith, the inertia of the mass 43 causes the coil 39 to move in and out of the field of a permanent magnet 47 oscillating with the housing 32. This movement of the coil 39 in a magnetic field produces voltages which are transmitted to the surface through conductors 49, which may pass through the tubing 31. These voltages are then amplified and recorded in a manner well known in the art. It is understood that instead of an induction type detector, a capacity or any other type of detector may as well be used, and that instead of a single detector of the horizontal component type, shown in the drawing for simplicity, a plurality of such detectors, both of the horizontal and of the vertical component type may be used.

Since, as explained above, it is essential to know the direction of arrival of the seismic waves with regard to the detector 33, and more particularly with regard to the axis thereof, the present orienting device 35 is mounted within the housing 32 at a distance such as about 12 inches from the detector 33. To eliminate the effect of elements such as the magnet 41 on the orienting device, a neutralizing magnet 5| may be conveniently positioned within the housing 32, for example on a rod 53 rotatably connecting the seismic and the orienting units. The unit 35, similar to that described with regard to Fig. 1, is calibrated for the purposes of this invention as follows:

Before the units 33 and 35 are placed in the housing 32 and lowered into the ground, the coils I and 2 are set at the surface so that a line normal to the plane of coil I is parallel to the rotation axis 45 of the detector, which may be readily affected, for example, by manipulation about the stem or rod 53 and adjustment of the swivel 23. For convenience the direction of this line may be marked, for example, by arranging or tracing a corresponding marking element or line on the top plate 55 of the detector frame, and giving a direction to this marking line by means of an arrow point placed at one of its ends in such a manner that when the detector coil 39 moves out of the field of the magnet 47, it rotates about its axis 45 in a clockwise direction looking in the direction of the marking arrow. The angle between the magnetic north and this marking line, measured in clockwise direction is taken as the azimuth D of the present device, as defined hereinabove.

The device, still at the surface, is then oriented in any desired manner, for example, by means of a magnetic compass. It is of especial advantage -to orient the device so that the azimuth D is equal to 45, since at that initial angle the amplitudes of the voltages produced by both coils upon oscillation are large, which facilitates calibration.

- The present device is at that time connected into the circuit shown in Fig. 4, which may comprise a source of E. M. F. 64, such for example as a 45 volt battery, double throw switch 65, amplifiers of a type such as used in seismograph work, as shown at SI and 62, and a recorder 61 having recording elements or galvanometers adapted to record the output voltages of the amplifiers, as shown at II and I2. Coils I and .2 are shown for clearness as mounted about separate parallel axes, although it w ll be understood that they are preferably mounted about a single axis, as described with regard to Figs. 1 and 3.

VWhen the switch 65 is thrown to the right of Fig. 4, the battery voltage is impressed across the coils I and 2, causing them to be energized and to shift their initial right-angle position with regard to each other, as explained with regard to Fig. 2. When the switch 65 is subscnuentlv thro n to the left, the battery 64 is disconnected from the circuit, the coils I and 2 swing back to their initial positions, and their free oscillation in the earth magnetic field produces potentials which are recorded by the galvanometers II and 12 in the form of traces shown in Fig. 7.

By a. proper analysis of the photographic traces of the coil voltages shown in Fig. '7, which may be measured in any desired arbitrary units, such as millimeters, it becomes immediately possible to determine their amplitude ratio Er/Ez and their period ratio Ti/Tz, from which the instrument constant C may be readily calculated as described hereinabove.

The excessive amplitude of the traces within thetime period indicated by lines 8| and 82 is due to cable disturbances produced by electric charges stored in the cable during the time when the battery voltage was applied to the coils I and 2 to cause them to deflect from their initial position: This cable disturbance lasts however only about0.3 second, and does not affect the accuracy of the present measurements. By measuring the lines 8| and 82 from their starting points in terms of an equal number of the respective cycles or periods T1 and T2, it becomes furthermore possible to determine whether the phase or first swing of each of the coils was in such a direction as to result in an upward or a downward movement of the trace as indicated in Fig. '7.

By changing, still at the surface, the orientation of the present device so as to obtain azimuth values such, for example, as 135, 225 and 315,

The present method may be applied in a similar manner for purposes other than orientation in seismic surveying.

For example, referring to Fig. 5, when it is desired to orient a whipstock 8 I, having a deflecting face 83 in such a manner that the borehole 85 may be deflected in a desired direction, the following procedure may be used.

The whipstock 8| is positioned within the borehole at the end of a string comprising a tubular member 81, preferably made of a non-magnetic material such as aluminum, magnesium, etc. The member 87 is provided with an internal guiding groove, rim or socket 89, which be of any suitable shape, a spiral socket being illustrated in the complete data necessary for the calibration of drawing. The present orienting device, that is, the device may be obtained. A typical tabulation the unit of Fig. 3, is lowered into the tubular of such data is given hereinbelow as an example: member 81 in a housing 82 at the end of a cable Values proportional to Direction of Quadrant Aziguth (cal cutrace lated) E1 E: T1 T2 C0111 C0ll2 Degrees First (N-E) 45 33.5 29 10.7 9.3 .99 Up Down. Second (b-E) 135 34 23 10.7 as .78 do. 0 Third (s-w).. 225 29 20.5 10.7 9.3 .81 Down. 0. Fourth (N-W) 315 31 22.5 10.7 9.3 .84 ---do Down.

Average C=0.85.

It will be noted that if in the first quadrant, 9| comprising the necessary electrical conductors. North-East, the direction of the trace was up for The housing 82 is provided with a guidin element coil I and down for coil 2, then in the second 93 which is shaped so that when the housing 82 quadrant, South-East, it was up for coil I and comes to rest on the socket 89, the engagement up for coil 2; in the third quadrant, South-West, 35 between the socket 89 and the guiding element 93 down for coil I and up for coil 2; and in the fourth results in positioning the housing 82 in a prequadrant, down for coil I and down for coil 2. determined position with regard to the tubular This pattern of trace direction remains constant member 81. Before the elements 8| and 81 are with the present orienting device provided the positioned in the borehole, and before the housing latter is always connected to the recorder in the 82 is lowered thereinto, the relative orientation or same manner. angular position of the face 83 of the whipstock After the orienting device has been properly with regard to the socket 89, and of the guiding calibrated, the units 33 and 35 areenclosed within element, 93 with regard to the coils I and 2 conthe housing 32 and lowered intoaborehole, being, tained in the housing, are adjusted in such a for example, positioned on its bottom and tamped manner that when the housing 82 comes to rest down with clay, sand or earth as shown in Fig. 3. on the socket 89, the plane of one of the coils, for The circuit of Fig. 4 is then operated, and the inexample coil I, lies in a predetermined position, dications of the coils I and 2 are recorded in a for example, parallel or normal, with regard to manner already described with regard to the calithe face 83 of the whipstock. By effecting therebration of the device. Assuming as a further exupon the necessary recordings, the orientation ample that the record obtained, which is similar of the deflecting face of the whipstock can be to that of Fig. 7, yields the following values: determined in the same manner as described here- E1:39 5 E2245 inabove with regard to the orientation of the ro- T :10 7 T :9 3 tation axis of the seismic detector 33. Thus the t 2 h hi tock can be found without Direction of trace of coil 1: down onentatmn of t p5 Direction of trace of coil 2: down removing the indicator, and the direction of the whipstock can be corrected immediately. Inserting the proper values into the expression The present device may furthermore be applied derived hereinabove for tan We have to measure the orientation of boreholes deviating 395 93 from the vertical, one manner in which such tan E'7f 'RW orientations may be efiected being diagram- From a table of trigonometric functions it will be iz ig g gg z a sg E Z g of a borehole seen that t 48 from the vertical may be measured by projecting an a beam of light IIII from a source I03 through D=81 a transparent level box I05 and thus photograph- Since, from the fact that the direction of the mg the image of an air bubble I81 on a graduated traces of both coils was down, it follows that this fi m value must be referred to the fourth quadrant, B pla in a unit I 3 similar t h u t 35 of th final solution for D is: D=360-81=279. Fig.3, within the housing I II containing also the When, therefore, seismic waves are subsequently above level and photographic units, and by prorecorded by the detector 33, the interpretation of viding the transparent level box I with a referthe seismograms obtained is based on the knowlence marking line II3, oriented with regard to edge that the orientation of the axis 45 of the the present coils I and 2 contained in the unit detector was 279", 76

I38, it is therefore possible to orient the deflection of any borehole into which the housing I'll is lowered by photographing the air bubble I01 and determining the orientation of the reference line H3 in the'earth magnetic field by recording at the same time the indications of the coils I and 2 in the manner already described hereinabove. The usually small deviation of the borehole, and therefore of the axis of rotation of the coils I and 2 from the vertical, does not interfere in such cases with the accuracy of the present method to any appreciable degree.

The use of the present direction finder in combination with a deviation recorder as described above may sometimes be found somewhat inconvenient because the information, namely, the deviation angle and the azimuth appear on different records, It is therefore possible, to provide an instrument according to the present invention wherein the deviation angle and the azimuth are simultaneously recorded at the surface on the same paper. The principle of such an arrangement may be summarized as follows: the natural frequency of each of the two indicator coils is caused to vary as a function of the inclination of the instrument in a vertical plane normal to the area of said coil by changing the tension of the bifilar suspension of the coil. One way in which this change of tension may be effected is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 8 with regard to one coil only, it being understood that an identical arrangement is used also with regard to the second coil, omitted from Fig. 8 for clearness.

In the embodiment of Fig. 8, the arm II'l, supporting coil I00 by means of the bifilar suspension I 21 and corresponding to arm I! of Fig. 1, is rigidly attached to a pivot IIII, rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis I I I, parallel to the plane of the coil I, Rigidly attached to the pivot- I I0 is a second arm H2, preferably forming a, substantial angle with the arm I I! in a plane perpendicular to the axis III. The arm II 2 has attached thereto a mass or weight H3, acted upon by the force of gravity along a vertical line I20. The lever element I I2-I I 0I I1 holds the bifilar suspension I21 in tension, and any tilt of the instrument about the axis l I I' results in an increase or a decrease of said tension, and thus in a change in the natural frequency of the coil I00. An identical system being used to vary the frequency of the second coil, the variations of the frequencies of the two coils, as appearing on a seismogram after suitable calibration, indicate the inclination of the device with regard to two substantially horizontal axes of known orientation in space, and thus the deviation of the instrument or of a borehole from the vertical.

The introduction of a vertical component of the earths field due to inclination does not measurably affect the accuracy of measurements of the present device since this effect is practically negligible at small angles, generally below 10", such as are encountered in deviating boreholes within which the device finds its application.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a system for orientation with regard to the earth magnetic field, two coils each mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in said field, means for adjusting the angular position of said coils about said axis, means for initiating an oscillation of said coils, and means for simultaneously and separately recording the voltages produced by the oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field.

2. A system comprising a housing adapted to be positioned in a, diflicultly accessible location within the earth magnetic field, recorder means for recording the orientation of said housing with regard to said field, conductor means electrically connected to said recorder means, two coils each mounted for independent oscillation within said housing, resilient means for suspending said coils in planes normally transverse to each other, and means for initiating an oscillation of said coils about said axis, said coils being electrically connected to said conductor means, whereby the voltages produced by the oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field are transmitted for recording to said recorder means.

3. In a system for orientation with regard to the earth magnetic field, two coils mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in said field, means for adjusting said coils to a predetermined angular position about said axis, means comprising a source of current in circuit with said coils for selectively first initiating and then discontinuing a flow of current therethrough, whereby said coils are caused first to deflect from said initial position and then to revert thereto by freely oscillating at their natural frequencies, and means comprising a recorder in circuit With said coils for simultaneously and separately recording the voltages produced by the free oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field.

4. In a system for orientation with regard'to the earth magnetic field, a frame member, two coils mounted on said frame member for inde pendent oscillation about a vertical axis in said field, means for adjusting said coils to an initial position transverse to each other in a predeterjmined angular relationship with regardto said frame member, means comprising a source of cur rent in circuit with said coils for consecutively energizing and de-energizing said coils, whereby said coils are caused to deflect from said initial position during an energization period, and to revert thereto by free oscillation at their natural frequencies during the following de-energization period, and means comprising a recorder in oil'- cuit with said coils for simultaneously and sepa' ately recording the voltages produced by the free oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field during said de-energization period.

5.'In a system for orientation with regard to the earth megnetic field, two coils mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis 'in said field, means for adjusting said coils to a predetermined angular position about said axis, an electric circuit comprising a source of current, an electric circuit comprising a recorder, and switch means for selectively connecting said coils in parallel into one of said electric circuits.

6. For use in a magnetic orientation system in combination with electric energizing and recording circuit means, a magnetic direction finder device adapted to be positioned in the earth magnetic field, said device comprising a frame member, two coils each mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in said field, means for adjusting said coils to an initial position in a predetermined angular relationship to said frame member, and insulated terminals mounted on said frame for electrically connecting said coils to said energizing and recording circuit means.

'7. For use in a magnetic orientation system in combination with an electrical circuit comprising energizing and recording means, a magnetic direction finder device adapted to be positioned in the earth magnetic field, said device comprising a frame member, two coils having different natural periods mounted for independent oscillation MUIJIW 11 about a vertical axis in said field, means for adjusting said coils to an initial position in a predetermined-angular relationship to said frame member, and insulated terminals mounted on said frame member for electrically connecting said coils in parallel to said electrical circuit.

8. For use in a magnetic orientation system in combination with an electrical circuit comprising energizing and recording means, a magnetic direction finder device adapted to be positioned in the earth magnetic field, said device comprising a frame member, two coils suspended one within the other from said frame member for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in said field, means for adjusting said coils to an initial position substantially at right angles to each other and in a predetermined angular relationship to said frame member, and insulated terminals mounted on said frame member for electrically connecting said coils in parallel to said electrical circuit.

9. In a system adapted to be oriented with regard to the earth magnetic field, the combination of a magnetic seismic detector and an orientation indicating device for said detector, spacing means connecting said detector to said device along a substantially vertical line, compensating magnet means afiixed to said spacing means, said detector comprising a rotatable element mounted about a horizontal axis, and said orientation indicating device comprising two coils mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in the earth magnetic field, means for adjusting the angular position of said coils about said vertical axis with regard to the horizontal axis of said detector, means for initiating an oscillation of said coils, means for simultaneously and separately recording the voltages produced by the oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field, and means for recording the indications of said seismic detector.

10. In a system for orienting an inclined body with regard to the earth magnetic field, two coils adapted for independent oscillation about a common axis in said field, resilient means for suspending said coils in normally substantially vertical planes transverse to each other, means for varying the natural period of oscillation of said coils by varying the tension of said resilient suspending means as a function of the deviation of said axis from the vertical, means for initiating an oscillation of said coils, and means for simultaneously and separately recording the voltages produced by the oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field.

11. In a system for orienting a seismic detector with regard to the earth magnetic field, the combination of a seismic detector comprising a rotatable element mounted about a horizontal axis, an orientation indicator comprising two coils mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in the earth magnetic field, means for adjusting the angular position of said coils about said vertical axis with regard to the horizontal axis of said detector element, means for initiating an oscillation of said coils, means for simultaneously and separately recording the voltages produced by the oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field, and means for recording the indications of the seismic detector.

12. In combination with a seismic system comprising a seismic detector having an element mounted about a horizontal axis for oscillation under the impact of seismic waves and means for recording said oscillations, an orientation indicator for said detector, said indicator comprising two coils mounted for independent oscillation about a vertical axis in the earth magnetic field, means for adjusting the angular position of said coils about said vertical axis with regard to the horizontal axis of said detector element, means for initiating an oscillation of said coils, and means for simultaneously and separately recording the voltages produced by the oscillation of said coils in the earth magnetic field.

EUGEN MERTEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,799,238 Leib Apr. 7, 1931 1,925,223 Ahlburg Sept. 5, 1933 2,190,950 Potopenko Feb. 20, 1940 2,350,080 Sproule May 30, 1944 2,376,883 Riggs et al May 29, 1945 

